Dandon Miller was riding his motorcycle home from Philadelphia on the Saturday of the 2019 Memorial Day weekend when traffic suddenly came to a stop. Miller pulled his bike off to the side of the highway to get a better look at what was causing the traffic jam, and was stunned by what he saw.
The source of the traffic jam was an injured bald eagle, which was helplessly stranded in the middle of the packed highway.
“Another person was there and they kind of nudged her a little bit to see if she would walk off the road or fly away. She spread her wings open and was not going to go anywhere,” Miller told The Dodo.
Knowing he had to act fast, Miller jumped into action. He grabbed his favorite flannel shirt and approached the injured bird. While Miller wanted to get the eagle out of harm’s way, he knew he had to protect his skin from her sharp talons.
Miller finally made his way to the bird, wrapped her up in his shirt, and carried her to safety. Much to his surprise, the bird remained calm as he held her for 45 minutes until help arrived.
“It was just amazing to hold that bird and for her to be calm like that,” he said. “Just amazing.”
Miller called 911 as well as the rehabilitation center Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research, Inc.
The rescue took the eagle in, and helped treat her for her various injuries. Due to the public interest, the center posted an update on how the eagle was doing, saying she was “resting comfortably after having a wing injury sutured under anesthesia by our wildlife veterinarian.”
Her recovery was being monitored by the staff at the rescue, and the hope was that she would be able to be re-released into the wild some day.
https://www.facebook.com/tristatebirdrescue/posts/3011765548848457?__xts__[0]=68.ARC0Zns-28qO1vLF16sVijn2jJuhumDh4pvXhxOEjWU_RN10FVWNn7Hlia5iN4ledsmhMLtVoI2Wrkr4pTBLBbdhk6oevyZw0T6F4C3aTlIOWYHKgQbGo6PsJkaeuts122OGrRlkNf7ZtBKLoLqRIf5elfZAGph-VA8hitTpT52r8XoIREI7rFMryE8W3ZwvsRHH2hT-6uTZa82ujR1Nc78DDf4DHYqWxE6EosXdE-6Wz8eVR0dg-SrS9yVTyNRyroTRCdu-mcmCgdL1-fI3eQ_XIgif3RANgCeB18-qla10hmQ3dwzz8MiMfWzPIZCFDnR8sy5siheGWch4Ldn4UacA-g&__tn__=-R
In a later post, the rescue was happy to report that the eagle’s recovery went well and that she had been released back into the wild!
“She’s free to soar once more! We are thrilled to share that the Bald Eagle rescued near Downingtown, PA, was released back to the wild where she belongs,” read the post. The rescue also shared a video showing the eagle’s release, which you can see below.
https://www.facebook.com/tristatebirdrescue/videos/2300651703588483/
There’s no doubt that the beautiful bird has Miller to thank for her rescue. You can learn more about how he saved her life by watching the video below.